What to do on your trip to Can Tho?

What to do on your trip to Can Tho? “Can Tho white rice with clear water – Those who go there do not want to return” (Cần Thơ gạo trắng nước trong, Ai đi đến đó lòng không muốn về) is a folk song associated with the rich land of Can Tho. The modern features of the streets mixed with the rustic features have attracted a large number of domestic and foreign tourists. What to do on your trip to Can Tho? This article will answer your questions.

1. Joining a Sight-seeing Tour around Can Tho City

1.1. Ong Temple

In a wonderful location facing the Can Tho River and decorated with huge incense coils, this Chinese temple is set inside the Guangzhou Assembly Hall and is the most interesting tourist attraction site in town. The temple was originally built in the late 19th century to worship Kuang Kung, a deity symbolizing loyalty, justice, reason, intelligence, honor, and courage, among other merits.
Approaching the engraved screen, the right side worships the Goddess of Fortune and the left side worships General Ma Tien. The center of the temple worships Kuang Kung flanked by the God of Earth and the God of Finance.

1.2. Can Tho Museum

The large, well-presented Can Tho Museum offers local history to life with manikins and life-size reproductions of buildings, including a Chinese pagoda and a house interior. Displays (with ample English translations) focus on the Khmer and Chinese communities, plant and fish specimens, rice production, and the Vietnam War.

What to do on your trip to Can Tho?

1.3. Munirensay Pagoda

This pagoda was originally built in 1946 to serve Can Tho’s Khmer community. The ornamentation is typical of Khmer Theravada Buddhist pagodas, with none of the multiple Bodhisattvas and Taoist spirits common in Vietnamese Mahayana pagodas.

2. Visiting Floating Markets

Highlights of the Mekong Delta are its colorful floating markets, which hug and stretched the river banks. Most market folks set out early (6 am and 8 am) to avoid the daytime heat.

Now, Improved roads, and public transport mean that some of the smaller, rural floating markets are disappearing; However, many of the larger floating markets near urban areas are still going strong.

Rural areas of Can Tho province, famous for their durian, mangosteen and orange orchards, can be easily reached from Can Tho by boat or motorcycle. Here are two floating markets in Can Tho that tourists often go to:

2.1. Cai Rang Floating Market

Cai Rang Floating Market, which is Just 6km from Can Tho in the direction of Soc Trang, is the biggest floating market in Can Tho and all over the Mekong Delta. Here, there is a bridge that serves as a great vantage point for photography. The market is the busiest before 9 am, although some vendors hang out until noon.

Visiting Cai Rang Market is an interesting experience. It can be seen from the road, but getting here is far more interesting by boat (US$6). Starting from the market area in Can Tho, it takes about an hour by riverway. you can also drive to the Cau Dau Sau boat landing (by Dau Sau Bridge), from where it takes only about 10 minutes to arrive at the market.

What to do on your trip to Can Tho?

2.2. Phong Dien Floating Market

Phong Dien has more rowing boats than motor boats. Less crowded than Cai Rang, and there are also far fewer tourists. It is the busiest between 6 am and 8 am. The market is 20km southwest of Can Tho; most customers get here by road.

A boat trip here will ask for a 3.30 am start (return 600.000 VND). You will have to arrange it the day before. After visiting the market, you will be able to continue to take a boat trip for visiting the small canals on the way and finishing back at the Cai Rang Floating Market. The round trip by boat of Can Tho – Cai Rang floating market takes about 5 hours.

3. Bird-watching in Bang Lang Stork Sanctuary

On the road between Can Tho and Long Xuyen, there is a place called Bang Lang (also called Vuon Co). It is a magnificent 1.3-hectare bird sanctuary with astonishing views of thousands of resident storks. Birdfield has a tall viewing platform to see the storks filling the branches; it’s a very interesting sight. The best times of day for birdwatching are dawn and dusk. Bang Lang is located in the Thot Not District, about 15km southeast of Long Xuyen City, An Giang Province.